GKIDS, a distributor of award-winning animation for both adult and family audiences, has announced the English voice cast for The Tale of Princess Kaguya, the highly anticipated new feature from Studio Ghibli. It is the first film in fourteen years from legendary Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata. In addition to Chloe Moretz as The Princess Kaguya, the film features the voices of James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, Darren Criss, Lucy Liu, Beau Bridges, James Marsden, Oliver Platt and Dean Cain. (Full cast list below.) GKIDS has North American distribution rights for the film and is planning a theatrical release starting October 17, with national expansion to follow. The film will qualify for the Academy Awards and other awards season contests.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya made its international premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where Variety hailed it as "a visionary tour-de-force." Eight years in the making, the film is the untold story of The Princess Kaguya, the heroine of the ancient Japanese folktale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.

The English-language version is being produced by Studio Ghibli and Geoffrey Wexler, with Frank Marshall of Kennedy/Marshall Executive Producing. This is the same team that handled English versions for the two previous Studio Ghibli films, The Wind Rises and From Up on Poppy Hill.

GKIDS and Studio Ghibli partnered with Studio Ghibli on the 2013 release of FFrom Up on Poppy Hill and GKIDS handles North American theatrical distribution for the Studio Ghibli library of films, one of the world's most coveted animation collections with titles including Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and others. GKIDS also handles theatrical distribution for Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies, widely considered a masterpiece.

Synopsis

Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo, a tiny girl grows into an exquisite young lady, raised by an old bamboo cutter and his wife. From the countryside to the grand capital city, even unseen she enthralls all who encounter her, including five noble suitors. Ultimately she must face her fate, punishment for her crime.

Based on the classic Japanese folktale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, The Tale of Princess Kaguya is the newest film from Studio Ghibli and the strikingly beautiful culmination of decades of contemplation by its director, Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata.